Life is Better This Way
by phoenixXdreams
Summary: A Harmony story because it's how it should have ended ; Harry and Hermione after Hogwarts. Life happens and you're welcome to come along for the ride.
1. Chapter 1

"_Where did the two of them go_?" Harry thought to himself.

He rounded the stone corner of just a usual Hogwarts corridor and there he saw them. All the thoughts he had about the on going battle were momentarily lost upon a glance at his friends' shining faces. Ron had a cheesy grin on his face and his eyes were on Hermione as she described the pair's journey into the Chamber of Secrets to acquire the Basilisk fangs.

Harry was smiling too as Hermione looked directly into his eyes, not Ron's. All her glances were for him. But soon she too became caught in the moment and in her euphoric decision gave Ron a kiss on the lips. Harry's smile faltered for a fraction, but when Hermione turned away half-ashamed and half-embarrassed, he went with the situation. Her eyes showed her uncertainty in what had just happened, and as she gave it a little more thought, she accepted the fact she had just kissed Ron. Hermione knew this is what was expected of her, but to her, it didn't feel right, however, she thought she could work with it.

Harry could discern Hermione's wavering judgment, and for some reason, this made him feel happy. He had had a minor crush on Hermione since their fifth year, but afraid of rejection, he decided it was best if they remained friends. Seeing her kiss his best mate had sparked sudden jealousy, which was subdued by her reaction to her spontaneous gesture.

Harry knew this new-found "relationship" his two friends had wouldn't last long, and he would make certain he was there when Hermione needed him the most, to pick up the pieces. In the meantime, he smiled.

"Oi, you lot are great and all, but c'mon. We've got a diadem to find."


	2. Chapter 2

Harry was sitting at the table where Kreacher served him dinner.

'Thanks Kreacher. It looks very good. If you want you can take a break, but if you'd rather clean I think the study could use some dusting."

Kreacher nodded his head and proudly said "Anything for the young master who is so kind to Kreacher"

Harry smiled and shook his head as Kreacher left the room. He was glad that they had finally became friends. As he tucked into his dinner, Hermione's voice came out of the floo.

"Harry…?" She sounded as if she'd been crying.

"Hermione? Is that you?" Harry put down his fork and got up from the table straitening the robes he found in Sirius's closet.

"Yeah," she paused for a second. "Umm… Can I come over for the night? I don't want to be he."

Harry smiled, but felt sympathy for one of his best friends. Life with Ron Weasley as your boyfriend was very stressful, and the two often had rows.

"Hermione, you know you're welcome here any time. You don't have to ask."

Harry could here arguing on the other side of the conversation, and finally Hermione replied, "Alright, I'll be there in 5 minutes." As soon as she was done, the flames turned back to orange and Harry turned on his heel and headed to the study to find Kreacher.

Opening the mahogany door, Harry spotted the house elf carefully wiping his possessions off.

"Excuse me, Kreacher. Could you please change the sheets on Hermione's bed? She's going to be staying over tonight."

The elf smiled with glee and bowed low to the ground. "Yes sir, I will prepare Mistress's room."

Harry thanked the elf and proceeded back to the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. He waited for another two minutes when Hermione appeared in his fireplace and quickly stepped out of the magical flames. The brown haired witch cast a quick cleansing spell on herself and straightened her dark blue robes.

"Harry, sorry for being so bothersome. And I know I don't have to ask, but I just feel bad if I don't…And…" Her voice faltered off as she set her overnight bag on the chair. She turned away from Harry trying to hide the fact that she was blinking away tears. Fighting with Ron always put her in a crappy mood.

Suddenly, Hermione felt Harry's arms snake around her shoulders giving her a brief hug. She felt part of her discomfort fade away. He then proceeded to massage her shoulders while talking.

"Aww… 'Mione, what's wrong?" Harry didn't really have to ask but Hermione began to recount her most recent fight. The fights were becoming more frequent and about smaller, more comical things. The "romantic" relationship between his two friends was slowly crumbling apart and Hermione was starting to spend more and more time in her room across the hall from Harry's.

"And then I said, 'I'm not your maid Ronald!' and he stormed out only to come back while I was talking to you on the floo. He thought I was wrong!" Hermione's brow furrowed slightly when she recounted the accusation. She sighed and leaned her head against Harry's chest. It felt right, and she liked that.

Harry looked down at the brown curls beneath his chin then held her away from his chest for a second to brush the curls out of her eyes. He then continued the close hug. "I'm sure he just needs to calm down a but to realize what he said to you. You know he has, umm what did you say that one time? Oh yeah. The emotional range of a teaspoon. Would you like dinner or a coffee?"

Hermione shook her head no and pulled herself from Harry's arms, but stood close to him. He smelled like books as if he had spent all day in a library. "No. I think I'll just go on up to bed. Thanks Harry." Hermione stood on her tip toes and kissed her friend on the cheek, her lips momentarily lingering. Blushing, she headed upstairs.

As he heard her door softly shut, Harry cleared his throat and blushed as he straightened his robes. His fingers lingered to where her lips had touched his face. It certainly felt magical and Harry was beginning to feel the need to keep Hermione around more.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry had called it quits with Ginny shortly after the final battle. He definitely loved her, but more so as a sister. He couldn't really see himself married to a Weasley for the rest of his life. Ginny hadn't minded, in fact, she felt the same. After they had mutually broke up she hugged Harry and whispered in his ear "I'm sure you'll be needed somewhere else in the future anyway." She glanced at Hermione and walked off. Harry smiled, because he knew she was right.

Apparently, Ron wasn't very good at relationships because it was only a year out of Hogwarts and the 19-year-old wasn't in good standing with Hermione. In fact, he was on very thin ice.

Hermione's visits to Grimmauld Place had been occurring more frequently and for longer times. Harry often stumbled upon her belongings scattered about the lower level of the house. He had even once found a bra in the washing. Embarrassed he put it back into her drawers of clothing.

For the second time in a week, Harry awoke to Hermione and Kreacher cooking breakfast in his kitchen. Seeing her so happy and carefree made Harry smile, and he wondered when she would realize her true feelings for Ron (and hopefully for him). The two had often shared spring nights in his study reading or meals in his kitchen adamantly talking about life out of Hogwarts. Hermione was most open to talk about her new job at the ministry heading a small faction in the Control and Regulation of Magical Features. Kingsley, being the new minister, was very interested in S.P.E.W which Hermione now revived on a more professional level.

Harry poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot of the stove. His arms brushed against Hermione's, making the two smile.

"Hey! Watch it, Potter. I'm trying to cook here." She jokingly threatened Harry with the spatula she was using to cook eggs.

"Oh. Sorry, Granger. I'll just be getting out of your way now" He moved across the space and sat down at the table, thinking. He finally came to a decision and spoke, "'Mione, I don't mean to pester you or anything, and I most certainly am not annoyed with you living in my house, but do you…uhh…. Do you really love Ron?" As soon as he let the words out he turned away for a second embarrassed. But as Hermione turned from the stove to look at him, he forced himself to look at her. The face on which his eyes touched was unreadable.

Hermione was secretly smiling on the inside from Harry's red face. She gazed into the bright emerald eyes she had known for almost 9 years. He finally let her humor show which immensely relieved Harry, and she sighed.

"You know what Harry?" The raven-haired eyebrows rose inquisitively. Hermione continued, "I don't think I ever loved him. Everyone thought I would end up with him and I just went along with it. But as it turns out, living in a flat with Ron is a lot harder than living with him at Hogwarts. He's needy, demanding, and most of all unappreciative. And you know what else? I don't want to deal with him in a romantic relationship any longer. You've showed me how much easier it is without him."

At this point, Hermione's voice was raised and her cheeks were colored with emotion. Harry was quite taken aback by this sudden outburst but he knew she needed it. Tears were slowly flowing down her face, but Hermione was smiling.

"Thank you, Harry. I know what I have to do now. You wouldn't mind if I lived here for a month or two would you? Just until I found my own place." Hermione pulled her close friend into a tight hug as he shook his head. In fact, Harry hoped Hermione would stay longer. Hermione spoke into his chest now. "Harry I really do appreciate you."

She kissed his cheek keeping her face next to his for a few seconds and walked outside to apparate, most likely to tell Ron her true feelings.

Even though she was gone, Harry spoke to her. "I know, Hermione. I appreciate you more than you know at the moment." One day, hopefully soon, Harry would reveal his feelings for her and hopefully, she would want him in her life. The spot where her lips had been was tingling, a sensation Harry never wanted to forget.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a month since Hermione had taken up permanent residence at Grimmauld Place. Breaking up with Ron was apparently easy when he also wanted out of the relationship. The two had mutually agreed that they jumped into things and remained friends. Ron had easily bounced back from his relationship with Hermione and had started seeing Lavender Brown.

Harry and Hermione were cooking a roast and various other items in the kitchen for a small dinner party and end-of-war anniversary celebration they would be hosting tonight. They were expecting Ron, Lavender, Neville, Luna, and Ginny over and both were excited to reunite themselves with their friends they had only briefly seen a couple of times over the past year.

"Harry," Hermione said flustered, "Can you pull the roast out? It's too heavy for me and it needs to sit awhile before we can carve it."

Harry smiled at the frantic look Hermione had all about her. Her hair was out of her bun and sweat was starting to form around her temples. He opened the hot oven, pulled the gigantic roast and set it on the counter to cool. Once again glancing at her frantic appearance Harry laughed.

Hermione looked up from the gravy she was stirring and saw Harry's green eyes scrunched with laughter. "What's so funny?" her eyes narrowed.

"You look like an absolute mess" Harry laughed more. Hermione glanced at her reflection is the mirror above the sink and gasped.

"Oh, you're right Harry!" she looked at the clock on the mantle place and gasped again. "I only have an hour left until guests arrive and I have so much to do! Oh no!"

Hermione began frantically moving about the kitchen casting spells on the food in order to multi task and right into Harry. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, embracing her in a hug. "Hermione, take a deep breath"

She inhaled, taking in the scent of the food in her kitchen. Wait… Her kitchen? She smiled, She took a couple more breaths, feeling the muscles of Harry's chest move as he was breathing with her. The touch shared between the two instantly calmed her. She closed her eyes and enjoyed Harry's arms.

"Now," Harry spoke softly into her hair. "Why don't you head upstairs and get ready for tonight while I finish up here in the kitchen. I'm sure I can handle what's left with Kreacher's help.

"Thanks Harry, you're the best" She exhaled and gave him a kiss on the cheek, something that was occurring more frequently.

In the shower, Hermione washed her hair and went to wash her body but found she had ran out of her soap. Seeing an alternative she grabbed Harry's plain bar of soap and finished her shower. Her hair was wrapped in a towel as she stepped across the hall into her room where she put on a plain v-neck t-shirt and a nice pair of jeans. The event was very casual.

As she returned to the kitchen she heard another male voice along with the sound of Harry's, which she had grown accustomed to in the past month. Upon closer listening she deduced it was Neville's voice.

"So. Hermione lives here now?" Neville asked friendly.

"Yeah. I've got so much space here, I don't mind her company" Harry replied. Hermione smiled at Harry's generosity.

"You know what, Harry?' Neville spoke. "You and Hermione would be a great couple. And I know there's something between the two of you." Hermione blushed. Did Neville really think that?

Harry spoke again, clearly flustered. "Uh, Thanks Neville. Y-You really think so?"

"Yeah. Why aren't you two together yet?" Neville smiled at Harry.

"I guess I haven't found the right time to ask." Harry said.

Hermione smiled at Harry's words. She knew of many perfect moments Harry could have used, but she knew he was waiting until he was certain his feelings were reciprocated. Instead of awkwardly walking in on the two men, Hermione walked quietly up the stairs and noisily made her way back down to alert the boys of her presence.

"Hey guys," she said eyes on Harry. She smiled when he winked at her. Tonight would definitely be a good night.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N I'd just like to thank you people for reading my story. It makes me happy. ^_^ I'll try to update as often as I can. Oh BTW, cookies can be found after reviews are made.... Just sayin.**

It was around one in the morning when Hermione ushered a tipsy Ginny Weasley up the stairs and into one of the many guest bedrooms in Harry's huge house. As Ginny plopped unceremoniously onto the bed she mumbled into her pillow, "Thanks, Miney" and almost instantly fell asleep.

Hermione smiled and made her way downstairs to clean up after the long celebration she had participated in, She gave a tired sigh as she wandered into the kitchen and was greeted by the back of her dark-haired companion. The sleeves of his blue shirt were gathered at his elbows and his hands were covered in suds from the dishes he was washing.

"Hey," he said sleepily. His glasses were on the bridge of his nose and Hermione could see the tiredness in his eyes as she pushed them back into place for him. After a small smile from him, she hugged Harry around the middle then started helping him with the dishes. After rinsing the plates, she set them aside where she later would use a quick drying spell before putting them away.

Every time handed her a dish, their fingers would brush, and Hermione couldn't help but smile at the way his slender hands felt on hers. She knew that Harry was making more contact with her then necessary but she didn't mind. He often glanced at her to gauge her reactions and was encouraged by the shy smiles she had across her face. After a couple plate passes, Hermione's cheeks began to burn slightly from embarrassment and her mind went off on a tangent. This momentary lapse of concentration allowed one of the giant dinner plates to slip through her hand and cascade to the floor.

The resulting crash and shrapnel was enough to wake both Harry and Hermione from their trances. Hermione gasped in pain as parts of the plate peppered her bare shins, since she had changed since most of their guests had left around eleven.

Harry promptly stopped washing dishes, grabbed his wand and set to work on the situation. He repaired the plate with one flick, cleared the water with another and also charmed the rest of the dishes to clean themselves. All the while, Hermione stood with her mouth open in shock from the numerous cuts and Harry's reaction.

He gently lifted Hermione and sat her on top of the wooden table he had meticulously cleaned as Hermione went upstairs to change. His training as a Healer helped right about now. Even though the career hadn't fallen in place, Harry still gained useful information from the 8 months he had spent in Healer Training. Hermione's mouth was still agape as he elevated her legs and gently cleaned and inspected her various cuts. As soon as he was certain that her small wounds were clean, he individually spelled them shut with concentration.

"Don't move yet," Harry instructed her as he ran up the stairs to the bathroom and got a medical salve from the cabinet.

Hermione took this time to take into account what had just happened. Harry had just acted so quickly and delicately. The concern in his eyes was genuine and she was just scratched up. She felt butterflies in her stomach. She realized that Harry truly did care for her. And, if analyzing her reactions correctly, as she always does, Hermione realized her feelings for him. But now, how to tell him…?

Harry came back downstairs with the purple cream in hand. After he carefully applied some to the healed scratches, he finally snapped out of his Healer mode. He took a couple of seconds to realize his actions then started blushing. Hermione laughed.

"What!" Harry said blushing more.

"You," Hermione said simply.

"Well, Granger, it's your fault in the first place. If you hadn't dropped the plate and lacerated your legs, then I wouldn't have had to go and…" Harry's fumbling excuses were stopped short. Instead of Hermione's lips being on his cheek, they were on his lips, thanking him.

He took a millisecond to realize this then increased his eagerness. Finally, he had kissed her. And from the way it felt, Harry could tell that life would only get better from this point on.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Longest chapter yet. Thanks again for reading. Review if you wish. This time there's chips and salsa in the review box. Tell me what you liked, didn't like, or your favorite color, I'm not picky.**

Christmas at Grimmauld Place was in full swing. Harry woke up with the smell of vanilla and honey on his mind. Opening his eyes, he looked to his chest where Hermione was snuggled up snoring slightly. They often shared the same bed, just to enjoy each other's warmth and touch, but nothing more. Harry had never felt more loved in his life than he did when Hermione nibbled on his ear right before they went to bed. He usually pulled her away and wrapped her in his arms and pressed her against his chest and they fell asleep. Any residual nightmares he had been having were now gone because Hermione was by his side. Harry again looked at the bushy haired bookworm in his arms before he kissed her gently on the forehead to wake her up.

"Hey, Sweetie," Harry grinned as she purred something about needing more sleep and rolled over so her back was against his chest. Harry, however, did not think the two needed anymore sleep and he promptly tickled Hermione until she was giggling with mirth.

"Alright, alright. I'll get up Potter," Hermione said as she rolled out of bed. She looked at the tousled hair of her boyfriend of six months before she headed into his bathroom to shower. As she washed up in his bathroom, Harry went downstairs to put on a kettle for tea and started to make breakfast.

Finishing up in the shower, Hermione wrapped her hair in a towel and put on Harry's bathrobe and followed the smells she sensed from the kitchen. Walking into the kitchen she sat down at the table, the same one where she and Harry had first kissed, and was promptly greeted by a stack of pancakes and eggs.

"Eat up, Granger," Harry smiled at the fact they liked to tease each other using their last names. He continued, "We have a lot to do today. Lunch at Molly's and then we need to buy a Christmas tree to decorate tonight."

"Harry, dear, we should have bought a tree weeks ago. It's December 21st for crying out loud. There'll be nothing left in the muggle lots." Hermione shook her head at their laziness. She knew that neither of them had so much as gone out of Grimmauld Place since their leave from work had started. They spent the days in the large private library on the third floor of Harry's house sharing various tidbits they learned from reading Sirius' various spell books. Harry was most interested in little charms that did small chores for him while Hermione was more concerned with learning higher-level magic. Either way, neither of them complained due to their contentment they found with each other.

"I don't plan on going to a muggle lot to get our tree, Mione." He smiled mysteriously. "Now eat up while I shower and then we'll go to Diagon Alley and finish shopping for everyone."

Harry kissed her quickly then headed upstairs and quickly showered. He walked to his wardrobe with a towel around his wait and put on a pair of jeans and a gray sweater. After that, he put on some plain black robes as well. He then opened a small drawer in the nightstand next to his side of the bed. From the far back, Harry extracted a small black velvet box and securely placed it in the inside pocket of his robes. He would need that for later.

He walked downstairs fully clothed and helped Hermione charm the rest of the dishes clean and dry. Both had a slight aversion to the muggle way ever since that night. Once the kitchen was cleaned up, Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and led her out the door to the muggle part of London. Both looked quite silly, Harry in his black robes, and Hermione in her light blue ones, but they quickly moved beyond the apparation point and with a quick turn Hermione apparated them both outside the Leaky Cauldron. They walked inside holding hands and after a quick chat with Tom, the two went to the enchanted brick wall and Harry pulled out the wand he entrusted his life to so much and tapped the pattern in the bricks.

As the wall to the wizarding marketplace opened, the two war heroes were greeted by several people congratulating them or something similar. After the crowd dispersed, Harry squeezed Hermione's hand.

"Where to, love?"

Hermione smiled and wordlessly lead him to Flourish and Blotts. Harry chuckled as the walked into the shop.

"I could've guessed I'd so see you two," said a familiar drawl.

Harry looked away from Hermione to see Draco Malfoy sitting behind the counter wearing the uniform robes of a Flourish and Blotts shop keeper. Harry narrowed his eyes slightly, but then something in his mind, or maybe it was the slight squeeze he got from Hermione's hand, told him to stay neutral towards the blonde man before him.

"Hello, Malfoy. What are you doing here?" Hermione asked politely.

"Well, I think it's obvious, but I'll enlighten you anyway. I work here since this was the only place that would hire me with a last name associated with Death Eaters. It's been hard adjusting, but I'm glad I gave up on the side. Oh, and you guys can call me Draco." The blonde young adult nervously smiled as he tried to gauge the pair's reaction.

After letting Draco's words soak in for a second, Harry moved swiftly towards the man. As she approached him, Harry held suspicion in his eyes, until Draco smiled at him and regret and guilt could be seen in his eyes. At this realization, Harry stuck his hand out and the blonde took his eagerly. As they shook hands, Hermione squealed slightly.

"Oh, guys! This is great! Draco, you should definitely come over to our place sometime. How about New Years?" she beamed at the new acquaintance she had.

"Yeah, sure, that sounds great." Draco looked at the two of them, then something donned on him. "Wait… Did you say 'our' house? As in Granger's and Potter's house?"

The couple looked at each other and smiled.

Harry nodded his head, 'Yeah. Hermione and me are dating and we live together at Grimmauld Place. Oh, and please call us by our first names, Draco."

Draco smirked and then nodded. "You know, Blaise Zabini owes me a galleon now. I always knew you'd two get together. You two don't look good with redheads."

Harry and Hermione laughed and then bid Draco goodbye with promises of an owl to tell him of the New Year's party soon. Hermione grabbed Harry's hand once more and led him around the shop, picking out books for some of their friends and family. Harry particularly liked the book he had picked out for Mr. Weasley called, "The Function of Rubber Ducks, Electricity, and Other Muggle Phenomenon". After paying for the books, Harry dragged Hermione over to Quality Quidditch Supply to get presents for Ron and Ginny. Donned with a bag of Chudley Cannon's apparel the two went to get an ice cream to share.

Over bites of chocolate, they discussed where they would go next.

"Hermione, do you think getting Mrs. Weasley a nice necklace would be a good present for her?"

Hermione nodded her head as she swallowed the ice cream. Then spoke, "I think we should get Bill and Fleur a nice vase or something for Shell Cottage." Harry agreed and within the hour, the rest of their shopping, including presents for little Teddy Lupin. Harry may have gone overboard, but he was his godson and it was his job to spoil the boy.

Hermione apparated them home and they set the gifts on the couch in the sitting room to remember to wrap them later. They sat in the arms of each other on the loveseat until the grandfather clock alerted them in was noon. Harry helped Hermione up and they flooed themselves over to the Burrow where craziness ensued.

Hermione helped Molly, Ginny, and Lavender in the kitchen as Harry went outside and stood around with the other men as they tried to stay out of the way.

"Oi, mate! I hope you and Hermione got me a good Christmas present," Ron went over and pulled Harry into a one armed hug.

Harry smiled at Ron, he was such a silly git sometimes, but that was all right when the git was one of your best friends.

"Of course we did. I hope you got me something nice," Harry jokingly elbowed his friend.

The two friends laughed and mingled with the other Weasleys until Ginny came out to tell them lunch was ready. The whole Weasley, with the exception of Fred, along with Hermione, Harry, Lavender, and Fleur squeezed around the table and began to eat.

During dinner, Harry had a conversation with Mr. Weasley that thoroughly reddened his face.

"Harry, when are you going to ask that fine young woman to marry you?" joking poking fun at his practically adopted son.

"Well, if you must know, I kinda planned on doing it soon." Harry smiled then leaned in closer so Hermione wouldn't be able to hear him. "I've already got a ring. I found it in my parent's vault earlier this year. It was my mother's."

Arthur beamed at the young man. "Harry! That's excellent! I hope it goes well for you."

Harry nodded his thanks and looked up to find Hermione having a very animated conversation with Percy and George. Her eyes were shining as she looked between the two men and responded genuinely to each of them. She was laughing, making her face red. She looked up to glance at Harry and their eyes met. He smiled as she laughed, little did he know, Percy and George were asking her questions very similar to Mr. Weasley's.

As lunch wrapped up, the Weasley children began leaving the Burrow by apparating, using the floo, or in some cases flying brooms while Disillusioned. Harry and Hermione bid their adopted family farewell until Christmas dinner and flooed themselves home.

They wrapped the gifts they had picked up earlier in the day, but having no tree to put them under, they set them on the table. For the next couple of hours, they enjoyed each other's company while they tried to transfigure pieces of paper into ornaments to hang on the tree. Hilarity ensued.


	7. Chapter 7

The next few hours at Grimmauld Place passed without much action. Hermione simply charmed various items around the house to sing Christmas carols on request while Harry and Kreacher prepared several rooms for any potential guests over the next couple of days.

Right before sundown, Harry walked downstairs and went to the large study he adored immensely and found Hermione taking a nap in one of her favorite chairs near the fireplace. He smiled at the beautiful girl in his house and his hand absentmindedly checked to see if the small velvet jewelry box was still in his pocket. After he had confirmed this, he stepped over to Hermione and gently kissed her lips. She smiled in her sleep, but did not wake up. Harry kissed her again and her eyelashes fluttered open to meet his gaze.

"Hey, sleepy-head. I think it's about ime to go get our tree."

Hermione rubbed the sleep from her eyes and nodded her head. "Okay. Where are we going again?"

"You'll just have to wait and see, my love."

The young couple stood and walked out the front door of Grimmauld Place hand in hand. Harry led them past the anti-apparation boundary then stopped momentarily. He turned to face his girlfriend of seven months and best friend for eight years. He leaned in close to her face his lips brushing from her chin all the way up to her earlobe.

He whispered quietly, "Ready?'

Receiving a nod, he grasped her arms and turned on the spot.

Seconds later the two appeared with a small pop in the middle of a vast snow covered forest. Huge trees of all sizes surrounded and the smell of the woods lingered in their noses. Harry let go of Hermione and both adults turned slowly to take in their surroundings. Harry smiled as Hermione's face grew home to a puzzled look. She didn't know where they were.

Right on cue, Hermione turned to the dark-haired boy and asked, "Dear, where are we?"

The best aspect of Harry doing small presentations for the Department of Mysteries is the fact that he rarely had to work. When they needed information about the war, they would call Harry, but other than that, the young man enjoyed a quite relaxed lifestyle. He spent most of his time reading from the vast Black's collection of books in his house. His sudden interest in books had been alarming to many people including him, but none the less, he enjoyed it. The countless hours he spent in that room amassed to an extensive knowledge of numerous things. Harry could tell anyone the characteristics of magical creature in Turkey, or he could recite the history of American magic.

While he read mostly wizarding books, seeing as how that's all there was in his particular library, he also enjoyed going to the local Muggle library in London and reading some of their books. One day as he was randomly picking books off the shelf, a certain green bound leather book caught his eye. Reading about the country Canada was very intriguing to Harry in some strange way. He learned of its capital and native languages, its imports and exports, and its culture. A small section at the end of the book titled "Interesting Facts" caught his attention the most. Third down from the top was a bullet point, which stated, "Canada's mountains are also home to some of the nicest Douglas Fir Pine trees. These trees are traditionally used as Christmas trees due to their abundance and great scent."

This little tidbit just stuck in his mind, and Harry knew he's find a good reason for it.

"Well, Granger, I believe we're somewhere in a Canadian forest, surrounded by some of the finest trees I've ever seen."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. "You apparated us all the way across the Atlantic! My goodness, Harry. This is a bit far for a tree don't you think? They are quite nice though. I love how they smell"

"That's precisely why I came here. I knew you'd love it. Now, shall we search for a nice one?"

She smiled and grabbed his hand. Together they trudged through the powdery snow, their cheeks getting pink from the cold, until they found a perfect tree.

"Harry! This is the one! Just look at it," called Hermione from a couple of trees down.

Harry turned around to look at the tree. "That looks great, love. Hold on though. What's this?"

Harry walked over to the branch nearest to her and looked at it closely. "There seems to be something on it…" his voice trailed off as he waited for her to walk closer. As soon as she was in position, he abruptly shook the branch, showering both of them in snow.

"Oops, never mind. Thought I saw something, but I guess it was just the light playing tricks on me."

Hermione playfully punched him as she brushed the snow off her coat and out of Harry's hair.

"Silly boy," she said as she kissed him softly.

"Gullible girl," Harry murmured as their lips broke apart.

They stayed looking in each others eyes for a while longer until Hermione walked back to the tree and began to cast a severing charm at it's base. As the tree fell, snow flurried in the air creating a snow globe effect around Hermione. _It's perfect_, Harry thought. Hermione caught Harry staring at her and laughed.

"What, Potter? See something you like?"

"Very much so Granger. In fact, not only do I like it, I also want it."

At this Harry chased Hermione in circles around the snow covered forest until he finally caught her sleeve and pulled her close to him.

"Ah! You've caught me! Now what are you gonna do, Potter?"

He smiled, knowing what to do next. He leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "This."

He got down on one knee and pulled the small box out of his pocket. Hermione's eyes shone brightly as he confessed his love for her and presented her with his mother's old ring.

"Well, Hermione, what do you think? Will you marry me?"

"Of course I will, Harry! Now get up here and kiss me!"

And he did.

**A/N**

**Well, what do you guys think? Review if you want to. Thanks to the people that have left reviews previously. I less than three you all. Next chapter will be up sooner, sorry about the delay with this one. I suffer from procrastination.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**

**Bah! Sorry I haven't been around very much recently. I'm sure everyone's last days of school are hectic. It's been awards ceremony, after finals, after speeches, after life. Excuses excuses excuses. I know you don't really care to read them, but I feel more justified when I complain. **

**I don't really know much about weddings, and on top of that, guy's opinions of them so I had my best friend, Travis, help me out with this one. He said guys could care less about wedding colors when they were marrying their love, but he did note a shocking statistic of the color yellow. Apparently, the most domestic abuse occurs in rooms that are yellow.  
**

**So on that lovely note, yellow certainly was not considered in this story even though it happens to be my favorite color. Oh well**. **Freshly baked brownies can be found for my reviewers and people that have subscribed to my story. I can honestly say I didn't expect anyone to read or like my story. Thank you, all of you.**

The month of May was slowly winding its way to the end, and the plans for a wedding were doubled. Harry and Hermione decided to get married the first week of July, which only left them a little over a month to get everything together. The venue, Hogwarts' front lawn, had been chosen within the first week of their engagement, and wedding invitations had been sent out in March. The catering service had been arranged, and the Weird Sisters had been booked. Bridesmaids and groomsmen were picked, but there was one important element missing. Harry and Hermione had yet to decided on a theme color. Green, for Harry's eyes, had already been shot down by Hermione. Pink was meet with a fake gag on Harry's part. Hermione and Harry couldn't seem to find a color they both liked that was logical to Hermione, and pleasing to Harry. Hermione had even gone out of her way one time on her way home from work and picked up a huge box of muggle crayons. Apparently Harry didn't like colors like macaroni and cheese or electric lime either.

They had to choose quickly in order to get bouquets made and ties, cummerbunds, and bridesmaid dresses picked. They had become so stubborn about this issue that Hermione had even called into work saying she wouldn't be coming in until she resolved an issue.

"Harry why not just a nice shade of orange?" Hermione whined.

"Hermione. You do realized that half of the bridesmaids and groomsmen have brilliantly red hair. Plus, you know little Teddy will have some odd shade a top his head just so the little tyke can get some laughs."

Hermione smiled at the thought of Harry's two year old nephew waddling his way down the aisle with bright green hair.

"Teddy is quite unpredictable" she agreed.

The two sat at the scrubbed table of Grimmauld Place in thought for a couple more moments before Harry spoke.

"How about a subtle shade of red?" Harry offered, but already knowing Hermione's argument.

"It's too cliché. Everyone chooses red or pink."

"So why can't we be like everyone else then?"

Hermione stuck her tongue out and retorted, "Because you had to go ahead and be the Boy-Who-Lived and the Boy-Who-Vanquished-the-Dark-Lord. That's why.'

"Sorry, next time I won't do any of that." He laughed as Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Alright Harry, what about silver?"

Harry considered the color for a moment. "You know what I like that, but it seems just a little boring in retrospect to us. How about we have silver and another color paired with white? We can have a little triad color scheme going on."

"I like that. So, silver, white, and what else? How about a minty color?" As Hermione finished, she looked up to see her fiance's eyes blankly staring out into space.

"Uh, Harry?"

Harry however was lost in memories from 5 years ago. The Yule Ball. He remembered not wanting to go and waiting until the last minute to find a date. He remembered being anxious about dancing and Ron blatantly ignoring his date. He remembered Butterbeers and the first time he heard The Weird Sisters play. He remembered a lot about him, but he also remembered her. Hermione. Stunningly beautiful. Her hair sleeked back, her teeth altered, her eyes shining. Why didn't he ask her? Why? This whole relationship could have been started much sooner. If only he had had the guts to do it then. He remembered her descending the staircase not knowing who she was at first. That's when he knew what the other color should be.

"Periwinkle…" he whispered it, too softly for Hermione to hear.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't catch that." Hermione's brow furrowed, thoroughly confused.

Harry spoke again, louder and looked into his soon to be wife's eyes as he said it.

"Remember five years ago. It was the Yule Ball. It was the first time I realized how truly beautiful you were. You were wearing periwinkle dress robes. I want that color. It symbolizes so much for me."

Hermione smiled. Finally they had agreed on colors at last. She stood up and turned to leave.

"Hey! Where're you going?" Harry stood up concerned. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, but it took you a damned long time to decide on a color. I've got to go tell Ginny, Luna, Hannah and Fleur. We need to go dress shopping."

Harry sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with an apologetic look on his face. "Yeah, sorry it took me so long to realize that. I guess I'll go talk to Ron, Neville, George, and Draco. They'll be needing to know the colors as well."

"Oh, Harry."

Hermione crossed the few feet back to her man. She kissed him and she could feel his smile as they did so.

"Thanks for loving me, 'Mione. It's a tough job."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N ~ Here's another chapter. I fail at uploading as often as I can, but I enjoy reading fanfiction way more than I do writing it! xD Review if you want to, and thanks in advance!**

\It was a lovely, picture perfect view when Hermione woke up July 6th. It was rather early for the light had only just reached her window from the third story of the immense stone castle she had stayed in. Hogwarts was a lovely place for today's event and she was glad that the weather would cooperate today. As she pushed the crimson quilt off of her body and walked to the window, her steps felt light and free. Pushing open the glass panes let in a small, almost undetectable breeze and it gently blew random strands of chestnut hair from the young woman's face. Her amber eyes scanned the grounds, pausing slightly to observe the way the light reflected off the lake and onto the altar that had been set up earlier in the week. She took in the massive amount of white chairs and the insanely long aisle she would soon have to walk down. Many people had responded to the wedding invitations they had sent out. Of course, the fact that two war heroes, and two members of the Golden Trio were getting hitched helped with publicity.

Usually, Hermione hated her privacy invaded in such a large quantity, but today, she didn't mind as much. She was getting married to Harry Potter, her lover, her best friend, and her first friend. She wanted everyone to know he was taken and he was hers. As Hermione stood at the window, a smile began creeping on her face. Today, truly, would be one of the best days of her life and she was sharing it with the only person she could possibly want to share it with. Also, her parents were here.

Sometime in February, Hermione and Harry had gone to Australia to find the Wendeltons and had been successful. With trusting eyes, they allowed Hermione to restore their supposed memories that she had taken away. As the spell washed over their bodies, Hermione's parents, Greg and Jane looked at their daughter uncertainly. After many questions, however, all had been justified and Hermione was forgiven, even thanked. Hermione broke the news of their engagement, and imminent wedding, and Jane Granger had burst into happy tears. Greg pulled Harry into a tight hug and the family was united even more strongly.

Today, she, Hermione Granger, soon to be Mrs. Potter, would be given away by her muggle father at a magical wedding. She was grateful her parents had learned and accepted so gracefully every aspect of their daughter's magical powers.

A sudden knock on her door pulled Hermione away from her reminiscing time at the window. She crossed the room and opened the door to be greeted by none other than her bridesmaids, Ginny, Luna, Hannah, and Fleur.

"'Ermione. Stop lazing about. You're gee' ting married today!" Fleur Delacour-Weasley was the only married woman that Hermione chose to be her bridesmaid and this was partly because she knew that the French woman could provide advice that would certainly help.

"Yeah, Hermione. Even the Nargles are up and about. Get moving!" Hannah Abbott nodded earnestly, smiling at the slightly crazy statement Luna just made. Luna Lovegood certainly had a personality, and she was ever so sweet. The fact that she was engaged to Neville Longbottom had connected the two friends even more and she was such a blessing to have around.

Last through the doorway was her fiery redheaded best friend Ginny. She had in her hand a makeup box and many creams, shampoos, and moisturizers. She threw a couple to Hermione along with a towel. "Hurry up and get clean. We've got a long next couple of hours ahead of us."

With that, Hermione hopped in the shower and her long day of hair pulling and make-up applying began.

Meanwhile, down in the dungeons, the men were slowly rousing from their beds, their hair ruffled, with slight headaches from their partying the night before.

As he opened his eyes, Harry sure as hell wished Draco had brewed enough Hangover Cure Draft because the pounding in his head needed alleviating. His last night as an unmarried man was spent in the Hog's Head where Draco kept pushing firewiskeys on him. He was encouraged by Ron, who at the time was beyond wasted, to keep downing his drinks in one gulp and after a couple rounds, he willingly obliged.

He rolled out of bed and walked down the dark hallway to where Draco was staying. He thought about knocking for a second, but decided against it, seeing as how Draco was still passed out anyway. He pushed open the door, and to his surprise, his mates actually were up and strangely happy and cheerful.

"Oi! 'Bout time you wandered in!" Draco yelled at him from across the room.

Harry could just muster a groan as he covered his ears from the large noise.

"Ah, you mind keeping it down, Drakey?" Harry stumbled about for a second until he felt a supporting arm around his shoulders. He opened his eyes and was greeted by the kind, round face of Neville Longbottom. He murmured thanks as he was walked over to a green leather armchair.

"Looks like someone needs a little pick me up, eh?" Ron's voice reached Harry's ears only to provide another uncomfortable pain on top of his headache.

"Oi, you lot stop talking, the man needs this before you chat his ear off." GeorgeWeasley thrust a goblet of hot potion into Harry's hands and he downed it quickly.

It was only a couple seconds before the effects started taking place, and Harry was immediately relieved. A sense of calmness rushed over his face and the groomsmen noticed as they had just recently experienced the same alleviation.

"Thanks, Georgie." Harry stood up and stretched his pajamas stretching slightly against his chest. "Well, I guess I'll go get ready then. I can trust you guys will take care of all the guests and such."

He left the room after a conformation from his four friends. He went back to his room and took a longer shower than usual. He dried his hair and attempted to make it lie flat, but he knew it never would. That was fine though, because Hermione liked its tousled look. Harry shaved his face in the mirror and took a long time to immaculately brush his teeth. By the time he was done, it was only 10 o'clock, and he had an hour and a half to spare. He double-checked his dress robes that had a silk, periwinkle colored inside along with a tie of the same color. Everything seemed to be in order, so he walked up to the ground floor to greet and meet with the guests.

As everyone moved outside to take his or her seats, Harry began to grow anxious. He wasn't worried about making the right decision, and didn't have nerves telling him not to go through with it. He was just glad to finally be marrying the love of his life. He walked to the altar and shook hands with Minister Shacklebolt.

While waiting for the procession to begin, he thought of his years at Hogwarts and how Hermione was in all of his best, treasured memories.

In his first year, going through the trap door, surviving Devil's Snare, enchantments, and a giant chess set was fun, but if it wasn't for Hermione, he would have never gotten past the room his the riddle. Not only that, but it was the first time he had even been given physical affection by anyone. The hug that eleven-year-old Hermione had given him was his first one ever. He would always remember it.

In his second year, he sulkily remember sitting for hours by Hermione's side after she had been petrified. He rarely left when Ron wanted to go and when Madame Pomfrey kicked him out, he'd sneak in later using his invisibility cloak. Spending all that time with her petrified body helped him find the paper scrunched in her hand and lead to his confrontation with riddle.

His third year at Hogwarts, the two friends had a slight disagreement over a simple broomstick, but in the end they had worked together to rescue Sirius Black and save the hippogriff Buckbeak. Not to mention, they also went into The Shrieking Shack and confronted a werewolf as well.

She was his only friend for a while in fourth year, and it was then that he realized how much he loved her. To him, she could be more than a friend, but she got interested in other people, like Viktor Krum. He knew she did this to make Ron jealous, and this too hurt him slightly. He thought he could never love as more than a friend and grew content with it for the time being.

During the Battle of The Department of Mysteries as the Death Eater slashed his wand through the air and her face formed the perfect O, he was scared for her life. He thought he had lost her and would never live it down. As Neville searched for a pulse, everything he had ever wanted to say to her scrolled through his mind. The wave of relief upon knowing there was hope for her was so large that he couldn't help but smile. He would eventually have a second chance.

His sixth year was a blur to him. It was full of drama, lust, heartbreak, and loss. But through thick and thin, Hermione stood by his side and was always there for him. He would never forget.

Camping. Visiting his parents' graves. Finding Horcruxes and destroying them. Infiltrating the corrupted ministry. His supposed last year at Hogwarts was spent in a tent. Ron had left them alone and she cried. That hurt him, but he made sure Hermione was comfortable. He would get his chance he told himself, and now he was doing just that.

Today was his chance to show the wizarding world how much he loved Hermione Jean Granger, and he certainly was going to love every second of it.

As Harry resurfaced from his memory dive, he heard pleasant music, coming from a bagpipe, to signal the beginning of the procession. Pachelbel's Canon in D played as Ron and Hannah, Neville and Luna, Draco and Ginny, and George and Fleur walked down the aisle arm in arm. Closely following them was little Teddy Lupin in toddler-sized robes hold the two platinum rings that had been ordered months before. Harry tousled the toddler's bright purple hair as he hugged his godfather's leg. Next after the aisle cleared, came little Victoire, the daughter of Bill and Fleur dressed in the cutest dress. She was tossing small orchid petals as she meandered to the front and stood with her mom.

Next, came the bride. Upon first sight, Harry could only think _Wow. I have got to be the luckiest bloke alive._ And he was probably right. Hermione stood, dressed in a simple strapless dress with a satin sash of periwinkle wrapped around her narrow waist. Her arm was delicately wrapped within her father's and she was absolutely glowing. The goblin made tiara sat upon her head of delicate curls and she was wearing pearls on her neck and ears. Her make up was barely detectable and Harry loved how he could still see her freckles. She looked truly amazing as she walked towards him beaming.

Soon afterwards, Hermione was in his arms, He gave her a slight squeeze and they turned together towards the Minister. The ceremony took place, ending in an "I do" and a simple kiss.

Before they turned to face the congregation Harry whispered in her ear, "So, Mrs. Potter, I just wanted to tell you, you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

He leaned back slightly to look at her bite her lips. She kissed his cheek, then leaned in to say something in his ear.

"You think now is great, just wait for tonight Mr. Potter." She winked and then turned them towards the crowd, Harry's cheeks bright red and all.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N ~ Hey out there! Sorry, it's been awhile. But anywho, here's another chapter. It took me awhile after Chapter 9 to think of something that Harry and Hermione could do. I was recently in IKEA so that's where the idea for this chapter came from. Next chapter should be up eventually. I've already got an idea in my mind. Review if you would like, it makes me feel good, and besides, my birthday is tomorrow, the 7th, so you should review just because of that. :D**

"Can you explain to me again where we're going?" Harry sat in the passenger seat of the truck he and Hermione had bought a couple months after they were married. Although he had grown up with muggles and knew how to operate the vehicle, he still preferred his wife to drive. She was probably better at it anyway.

"I told you, we're going to this huge warehouse store called IKEA." Hermione said with a slightly annoyed tone. She had been telling her husband of 10 months that their new house in St. Ottery Catchpole needed some touching up for the past two weeks. She knew he was just grumbling about the fact that they were going to go pick out furniture, a process she drug out in order to find the exact things she needed.

"But Hermione, it's an hour away! Why are we driving?" Harry knew arguing this was pointless. They needed the truck to take the furniture home in; seeing as how apparation would warp the wood and they were buying a lot so shrinking it down wouldn't work either.

"Harry you know why. Besides, you're the one who bought a 7 bedroom house. What were you thinking?" Hermione inwardly smiled. She knew what Harry wanted. A huge family. The house Harry had inherited was even bigger than the one they had bought, but Hermione thought it wasn't the right place to raise a family in. there was no room for young children to play and living in London would cause them to subdue their magic in order to fit in. Harry also didn't like the fact that he couldn't fly around on his broom. They still kept 12 Grimmauld Place, lending it to various friends and families that needed it. Currently, Luna and Neville were staying their along with Hermione's parents, and oddly enough, Severus Snape.

"Well, I was just thinking that we could have guests over a lot…" Harry turned pink. He was glad she knew the real reason.

"I want at least one guest room and a master suite. That leaves five bedrooms left over. I think you'll find that quite sufficient?" Hermione found it fun to make Harry feel embarrassed.

"Yes, kitten, that'll be lovely. We aren't buying furniture for all of them today, are we?"

"I was just thinking to do our room, the living room, the kitchen, and start the guest room. Good thing the ministry pays us both that huge war time compensation, otherwise these rooms would take several years to build."

"Not really," Harry said reminding her of the massive Potter fortune he was left. "And it's better we spend the money on family things instead of en suite hot tubs like Ron did."

Hermione laughed at the thought. Their best friend had actually paid a muggle company to build a huge hot tub in the corner of his bedroom. He was just lucky his current girlfriend Hannah, he and Lavender had fallen apart, thought it wasn't too dumb. If Harry had put a hot tub in their room, she would have made him sleep on the couch for a week. Or maybe just a night. It was hard for Hermione to stay mad at him. He always made her unpleasant mood turn to normal by stroking her hair and kissing her knuckles.

Hermione and Harry proceeded to exchange playful banter about their destination until they arrived in the car park.

"Merlin's beard, 'Mione! This place is huge!" Harry's jaw was slackened as he stared at the huge yellow letters on the giant building.

"It's a warehouse, dear. Come on, now."

The next three hours, yes, three was spent looking at and deciding on furniture, lamps, plates, rugs, and pillows for their house. They had only bought it and moved in a month ago, but it was already starting to feel like home, and they hadn't even picked up the furniture yet. Harry picked out a nice entertainment system for the television he had charmed to work and Hermione made sure to grab a dozen bookshelves. Not only did they transport most of the Black family library, excluding all the dark magic books, but they also had all of Hermione's books she had accumulated over her school years and from every birthday. Her collection would fill up almost two whole shelves, the Black collection would fill up six, and the remaining four would only last for a couple years. It was a good thing that their house had a huge ballroom. They had ripped out the shiny flooring and put in warm cream-colored carpet. They painted the walls a dark, calming green, and added several chairs, couches, lamps, and curtained windows. It would be the perfect place to relax. They made sure to buy tables that could have been found in the Hogwarts library as well.

In their kitchen, they chose a modern shelving unit made of dark cherry wood. They picked up matching appliances along with a huge table that could seat twelve people. They built their kitchen around the idea of entertaining and providing. They knew in the upcoming years, that's exactly what it would be used for.

In their bedroom, they chose a Japanese style bed, low to the ground with teak wood. Naturally, they picked gold and crimson colored accessories to fit their Gryfinndor pride.

Harry was about dead on his feet after having to walk around the showrooms and pick up mountains of boxes, but eventually, they had their truck bed loaded, and the back seat stuffed. Stuffed was also saying a lot, seeing as how the truck's cab was magically expanded.

Harry slept on the way home and was shaken awake by Hermione when they pulled into the dirt lane that lead to their house. The three story house came into view as the hedges that framed the path slowly disappeared. Harry groaned at the thought of having to carry in all the furniture and assemble it.

After relaying this thought to Hermione, she gently smacked his arm. "Dear, are you a wizard or not? Ever heard of this thing called magic?"

Harry smiled at the memory of yelling something of the sort to Hermione in their first year.

"Right. How could I forget?"

As Hermione stopped and put the truck in park and shut the engine off, Harry leaned in close to her.

"What do you say to doing our bedroom first? I have something in there I want to show you?"

Hermione's breath tickled his ear. "Well, ," she said, her hands on his thighs moving closer to his groin, "I think that would be perfectly acceptable. I in fact of something to show to you as well."

Harry grinned, feigning innocence. "Really, Mrs. Potter? How interesting! I however get to go first."

And with that, he began kissing her. At this point, the furniture would never even get unloaded, let alone assembled.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N So, sup? Who's reading Harry Potter this summer. I sure as heck am. Here's another chapter. I should really write more than read but hey, it's all good.

Harry finished charming the last pumpkin to laugh evilly on occasion as he heard a muffled yell from upstairs. Seeing as how there were only two people in his still fairly new house as this Halloween day, he walked upstairs to help his wife.

Upon entering the master bedroom, he glanced around for Hermione. His eyes took in the furniture they had picked up six months earlier and he also saw pillows strewn about the floor from last nights…. Ahem… celebrations. Not seeing a mane of bushy hair in the bedroom, he walked across the floor, picking up the scarlet bed decorations and putting them back as he went. His hand finally reached the knob to the master bath and he turned it and pulled the door open. There, with her arms stuck upright in her Halloween costume was his wife.

Her face was covered by the garment she was attempting to put on, but she seemed to be having a hard time. Harry grabbed the hem and carefully pulled the orange pumpkin costume over his pregnant wife's belly. She was six months along, and Harry doted on her every need. A couple weeks after their random fun time in the car back in April, Hermione began to feel very sick in the mornings. She stopped by a Healer one day on her way home from work and found out she was pregnant. Ecstatic she ran home to find Harry planting chrysanthemums in the flowerbeds in front of the house. She grabbed him by his shoulders and kissed him hard on the lips as he eagerly played along.

As she broke apart, she melted into his chest and he whispered in her ear, "And why did I have the pleasure of such a lovely greeting, Mrs. Potter?" She smiled.

"Well, , not only did I miss you a lot today, but I have the most wonderful news." She smirked, making Harry try to guess what she would tell him.

"Let me guess. A new edition of _Hogwarts, A History_ was published today?" He laughed at her when she playfully smacked his arm.

"No, silly. I'm pregnant." She watched his face for emotion, and her eyes twinkled just as his did. He carefully picked her up and spun her around, all while being carefully of her abdomen. He even carried her into their home, bridal style.

A month later, the two visited the hospital for their regular check up and found that not only were they pregnant, but they would have twin boys. The couple left an hour later grins plastered stupidly on their faces. They first broke the news to Hermione's parents who pulled them into a crushing hug, and then later to the Weasley family, all of whom cheered and whistled for the happy couple.

Now, six months into her pregnancy, Hermione was starting to get a bit round, especially with the two babies. Harry rubbed her belly and bent down to kiss it and was met with a kick to his nose.

"Ah!" he jumped back rubbing his nose. "Boys, Daddy doesn't find that funny."

Hermione giggled, "Well Mommy sure does."

The two eventually made their way downstairs so they could greet guests as they arrived to the Halloween festivities they were hosting. An hour and a half later, most people had arrived and the party was going great.

Harry walked through his house, talking to guests, and being followed by Teddy. He ruffled the boys hair as he walked over to Draco, who had an arm around his wife Ginny. The two had been married sometime in August they absolutely glowed. Draco and his mother were welcomed into the Weasley clan with open arms, and everyone got along on great terms, even if it did take Ron a tad bit of convincing.

"Hey, Draco. Hey, Ginny" Harry greeted the couple. They talked amiably for a short time that was just long enough for Teddy to pull on Harry's pant leg and be held by his godfather. Sensing the boy's lack of energy, he apologized to Draco and Ginny and went upstairs to put the young boy asleep. Andromeda, Teddy's grandma, often dropped the young boy off to stay with Harry and Hermione for the weekend so the guest room already had many of Teddy's clothes, books, and toys. Harry set the little tyke down on the bed which was way too large for him and grabbed some pajamas out of the drawer. He changed the four year old and tucked him in. He watched as his hair turned from bright orange back to its natural, at least that's what they thought, tawny color. He looked so much like Remus, Harry had to swallow back pride. He kissed the boy's forehead and turned to leave.

There in the doorway, stood his wife. She glowed as all pregnant women do and was also crying.

"'Mione, what's wrong?" Harry rushed to his wife and pulled her into a gentle embrace.

"Nothing's wrong Harry. I just realized something." She said quietly, pulling the door to the guestroom closed as they walked out into the hall.

"What?" Harry asked quizzically.

"You're going to be a great father." She beamed up at him, kissed him on the cheek, and headed down the stairs.

Harry stood there awhile longer and then followed his wife.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N ~ Two chapters in quick succession? My aren't you lucky? I'd like to thank everyone who gave me happy birthday wishes. I forgot to add that in my author's note of the previous chapter. I can has review, plz?

It was just another night in the Potter Place. It was January and snow blanketed the lawn.

Soon after they had moved in, Mrs. Wealsey came over to visit and give them fresh flowers for their kitchen vase. On the card she had written : "Something nice for the new Potter Place", and ever since then, the house had always been dubbed as so.

Harry was at the sink, charming the dishes to wash themselves so he would only have to dry them. Hermione was now in her last week of pregnancy and was about to burst. She was due to deliver two boys any day now, and you could definitely tell by looking at her. In the past month, she spent more time in bed than she did out of it. Not that she didn't mind all that much. She got to read a lot, and got back into knitting. She made several small hats for her boys, along with gloves and booties.

She sat in bed, a book propped open on her large stomach and waited for Harry to come to bed. She loved the warmth he provided and often found she couldn't get to sleep without him snuggled up next to her.

Harry finished up the dishes, dried his hand on the insides of his robes, grabbed his wand and started to head up the stairs. He flicked his wand at the various lights left on as he made his way upstairs, back to his beautiful wife. He extinguished the hall lamp as he closed the master bedroom door behind him. He pulled off most of his clothes, leaving his underwear and t-shirt on and climbed into bed. He pulled Hermione close to him, spooning her from behind.

The couple lay in silence for awhile, with Harry occasionally nibbling at Hermione's ear or rubbing her back until the two fell asleep. A couple hours later, sometime around three am. Harry awoke to a sharp gasp/

"'Mione? Are you alright?" Harry mumbled sleepily, turning on a light above their heads.

"Yeah, but, I think we're going to have to go to the hospital. My water broke. The boys want to meet us." Hermione replied with her eyes close. Her calmness radiated from her demeanor and relaxed state. Harry however, freaked out.

"WHAT!" He jumped up and ran about the room, packing bags and throwing on clothes. He jumbled noisily around the gold and red room until he finally emerged from the bathroom, with towels in hand. He glanced at his wife, who still lay in bed with her eyes closed. The only way he could tell she was in labor was due to her deep, concentrated breathing. He laughed at his minor spastic attack before going to Hermione and lifting her out of bed.

She willing got out of bed and made her way around the room, getting dressed in comfy clothes, and checking to see if Harry had packed everything. When she had confirmed this, she allowed Harry to first apparate all their stuff and check into their room at St. Mungo's. Five minutes later he came back and carefully apparated her directly into their room. She got redressed in the gown provided and lay back in the bed and started to wait.

After a couple hours, light finally made its way into their room and allowed the sweat on Hermione's face to shine more. She was almost ready to deliver and had asked Harry to leave the room for a while as he was being almost too helpful.

Meanwhile, in the small reception area, designed directly for the family and friends of the patients sat Harry James Potter and many others. Molly, Ginny, Draco, Neville, Luna, Ron, Hannah, Hermione's parents and Charlie had all volunteered to support Hermione and Harry at the hospital when the dark haired man had burst in earlier stammering something about birthing. At the moment, Molly had Harry's head in her lap where she was gently stroking his hair, trying to quell his stress levels. Everyone else was either talking quietly or trying to predict what the boys would be named and whom the godparents would be.

Harry heard a scream coming from down the hall and immediately jumped up and was about to run down the hall back to his wife when the healer in receptions said, "Mr. Potter. That is not your wife. Please sit down. She'll call when she's allowed you back in."

Ron, Draco, and Charlie all broke into laughter as Harry put an embarrassed grin on his face.

"It's alright dear, Arthur did the same thing when Bill was being bored. In fact, I think the healers gave him several servings of Calming Draught before he was fit to come back in the room with me." Molly Weasley comforted her practically adopted son as he went through the traumatic experience of childbirth. She didn't blame Hermione for kicking the man out, he was quite stressed.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry was allowed back into the room and got into bed with Hermione, sitting behind her and offering the support of his chest and legs to help in the process. An hour later, baby number one arrived in the world, closely followed by his brother just a couple minutes later. The healers cleaned the boys us quickly through the use of cleansing spells, weighed and measured them, then handed the boys back to their parents.

"We'll just leave you two alone until you've decided on names. When you have, just fill out the rest of this paperwork, and we'll send in your friends." The Healer then left with a swish of her green robes.

Harry and Hermione already had in mind what they wanted to name their boys, they just had to be sure the names fit.

First, they looked in Hermione's arms. A face, shaped like Harry's but with Hermione's brown curls slept soundly. Hermione kissed the infant's head and he opened his eyes. Piercing blue eyes, courtesy of Hermione's father gazed back. The parents smiled.

"He is definitely Remus James" Hermione whispered.

Harry shook his head, a tear falling slowly from his lashes and the couple moved their attention to the slightly smaller bundle in Harry's arms.

Harry's exact look alike stared back at him. Unlike his brother who was sleeping, this little boy was fully alert and awake, his green eyes taking in everything. His arms and legs were flailing about, getting used to the open space he had been introduced to.

"Why, hello there, Albus Arthur Potter. Welcome to the world my boy. I think you'll grow up to be a Quidditch player like your father." Harry murmured his greetings into Hermione's hair. She nodded her approval and together they filled out the paperwork.

Afterward, Harry left his new family in their room to sleep and went out to tell the others of his news.

The smile on his face instantly gave him away and he was soon bombarded with questions about his boys.

"Alright, gather round," Harry said corralling them all into one corner. "I only want to say this once. Hermione and the boys are fine and sleeping. They'll be awake in an hour and then we can go meet them."

Ginny interjected, "Well. What did you name the poor guys." And Draco nodded earnestly from her side.

"Yeah, Potter, spit it out already."

The group laughed at Draco's comment but quickly turned their attention to Harry.

"Well, we've got a curly brown haired blue eyed boy named Remus James." Harry paused for several "awws" from the women and then continued, "And we also have a mini Harry, down to the energy level" Ron snorted.

"Shut up, Ronald!" His fiancé Hannah smacked the back of his head.

Harry laughed and continued again, "And we named him Albus Arthur."

The next thing Harry knew, he was practically being attacked by Mrs. Weasley who was wailing something along the lines of " Oh, Harry! You named one of your sons after Arthur? He'll be soooo happy."

He rubbed Mrs. Weasley's back and grinned at the group. He suddenly remembered something.

"Oi, you lot! Ron and Hannah. And Draco and Ginny." The couples looked at him. "Ron and Hannah, Hermione and I would like you to be the godparents of little Al. Ginny and Draco, we'd like for you to be Remmy's." The couples confirmed their acceptance by smiles, which only prompted more tears pf joy from Mrs. Weasley.

Harry looked around at his friends and family once more after releasing Molly and then lead them to the room that Hermione was in.

He watched as his sons and wife we're doted upon by others and he thought to himself, and not for the first time, "_Life is better this way."_


	13. Chapter 13

A/N ~ Ello Poppets. I'm at bagpipe camp and the internet is crap! But I managed to secure the singnal to upload this. YAY! Oh, and its a good one. ready read GO GO GO!

"Oww. Damn it!" Harry lifted his foot up so he could peel off the Lego basically embedded in it. His two and a half year old twin boys certainly made his house into a home. Their toys were always scattered around the house, and often in odd places. One time he was flying for the boys outside while Hermione was planting tomatoes and he spotted the stuffed rabbit Draco and Ginny had bought for Remus. He was sure the boys had managed to send it up there by magic and he grinned at the two. Albus and Remus were going to be the next generation of Marauders, he could just tell. Ron's daughter, Dana, was just as mischievous even though she was a whole year younger.

"Harry!" Hermione's chocolate eyes berated him. "The boys are in their room. They can probably hear you."

Harry sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck "Sorry…"

"It's fine. Why don't you get them dressed? Minerva said she'd be here at one for lunch."

"Right. Why is she coming again?"

Hermione turned to go back to clean the kitchen and called over her shoulder, "I'm not sure"

Harry walked the rest of the way up and walked to the boys room. He opened the white door and found the boys playing with blocks, still in their pajamas. He glanced on the floor to check for any more hazards to his foot and when he found only blue carpet, he walked the rest of the way over to his sons.

Remus and Albus had managed to construct a "castle" similar to Hogwarts. It had several spindly towers and a huge entrance way.

"What are you boys up to?" Harry asked as he squatted next to Albus, ruffling his unruly black hair.

"Daddy!" Remus squealed. The curly headed toddler ran over to his daddy and hugged him around the middle.

"Hey Remmy." Harry chuckled. "So, today, mommy and daddy are having a visitor over. You guys have met her before. Do you remember Headmistress McGonagall?"

"Ms. McGongon?" Albus asked his green eyes lighting up.

"The very same." Harry tapped the boy's nose, causing the small eyes to cross

"Ooo!" Remus piped up. "I like her. She can turn into a kitty!"

Albus squirmed with laughter at this thought.

"Well, you boys need dressing. Come on." Harry walked over to the boys' dresser and picked out identical sweater vests and jeans for the toddlers.

After he got the squirrelly boys dressed, he cast a quick freshening charm on them and combed their hair. Albus's never would lie flat, like his father's.

He shooed them out of the room and down the stairs to their mother. He looked back into the toddler's rooms and sighed. It was a monstrous mess. He cast various spells about the room, allowing the objects to put themselves away and the trash to pick itself up. Once the room was looking better, he himself changed into something nicer and tried his luck with his hair. Unsuccessful as always, he walked back down the stairs and helped his wife finish the chicken.

"It's about time you showed your face down here," snapped Hermione as Harry entered the kitchen. Her thick brown hair was escaping its knot and straggly wisps stuck to her sweaty face.

Harry was about to reply when something caught his attention. "Do you smell . . . smoke?" he asked, glancing around the kitchen, which was already strewn with sticky bowls and blackened pans. A noise that was somewhere between a shriek and a strangled gasp escaped Hermione, who shoved an armful of table linens at Harry and lunged for the oven, which by now was indeed producing a faint stream of smoke.

"I'll just . . . yeah . . . I'll . . ." Harry decided that in Hermione would be better off without an audience and retreated to the dining room. The table set itself with a flick of Harry's wand, and on his way back to the kitchen, he caught sight of himself in the mirror hanging in the hall. His mother's green eyes stared out of his father's face, and he smiled. Albus had green eyes.

Without warning, the child in question came flying down the stairs amidst a shower of something yellowish and with roughly the consistency of loose soil. Remus was close behind, shrieking with glee and flinging handfuls of the stuff in the air. Harry scooped up one under each arm. "Remus! Albus! What in the name of- oh, no. No you didn't. Ohh. . ."

Remus's grin reminded him uncannily of the Weasley twins in their Hogwarts days. "Kitty!"

Albus giggled and flung a fistful of the stuff into his father's face. And so, when Headmistress McGonagall of Hogwarts knocked on the front door, she was greeted by a slightly frazzled-looking Mr. Potter, who was carrying a squirming toddler under each arm, and was covered with cat litter.

"Ah. . . good afternoon, Harry," she said slowly. To Harry's immense relief, Hermione swept in at that moment, looking bright and not at all as if she had spent the last hour sweating and fuming over cookbooks.

"Harry. . . Sirius isn't dead."

They both stared at her. "Is this a joke?" Harry asked at last. His voice was shaking. "Of _course_ Sirius is dead. I saw . . . I saw him when . . .when she. . ." Hermione touched his arm and he realized that his voice had been rising.

McGonagall stared at her folded hands. "I know, Harry. Let me explain." She took a deep breath. "As you must know, the new Minister of Magic took office a few weeks ago. He was very interested in the veil in the Department of Mysteries and ordered some research to be done regarding it." She stopped. Neither Potter could remember ever seeing the severe McGonagall looking this shaken.

"Yes?" prompted Hermione.

"They discovered that behind the veil was a room, filled with the bodies of every person who had ever fallen through. But they were not dead, but in a kind of stupor, frozen, one might say."

"And. . . Sirius?" Harry croaked.

McGonagall nodded. "He was there. The Ministry is still trying to figure out what to do, but the people were removed to hospitals for care."

"Where's Sirius?"

"Well, at the time of his death- er- he was still a convict in hiding. He is staying with a woman who agreed to care for him, not too far from here. Her name is Emilia Malone."

Harry mouth hung open in shock. His godfather, Sirius Black, was alive. Not well, but alive. He had spent the last five years of his life thinking he was dead. He remember mourning the loss of the last closest thing he had to a parent for weeks. Now instead of remorse filling his heart at the mention of Sirius's name, hope took it's place.

"How likely is it that he'll live?" Hermione asked, concerned of the implications of Harry losing his godfather for a second time.

McGonagall knew what Hermione was thinking. "Hermione, I certainly wouldn't have told you unless I was certain he'd make a full recovery. In fact, he's allowed visitors now. You might want to go over and see him. Miss Malone lives on just the other side of he village. You know? Behind the Lovegood's house."

Hermione nodded earnestly and shook Harry's shoulder to bring him out of the shock he had slid into.

A little voice piped up, "Momma, who's Serus?" Remus and Albus were tugging on Hermione's robes.

"He was daddy's father when Grandma and Grandpa Potter died, but he died in the war too. Now, he's alive though. I guess he never died in that case."

Remus had a cute perplexed look on his face while Albus had his finger in his nose. Hermione laughed, "Don't worry boys. You can meet him soon I'm guessing. He can be your granddad."

At this the boys were excited. Grandad Granger always bought them toys whenever he came to visit. Thrilled by the news, the boys ran upstairs to decide what to do with their new relative first.

Harry jerked slightly and closed his gaping mouth.

"I-… I'm…. Uh…" He stumbled to find words to thank McGonagall.

"It wasn't me who found him Harry, so you don't have to thank me. But I do have another favor to ask you."

"Sure. Anything you need."

"Well, as you know, term ended, and once again, I've found myself in the need of a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Do you think you could do it?"

"I will." Harry felt like he was sailing on a cloud- he probably would have agreed to

The Headmistress smiled.

"But on one condition. I want to stay here. I want to raise my boys and my family in the house I bought. I want to watch them grow up everyday in their own environment, away from Hogwarts, until they're eleven, of course. I want Sirius to come live with us. I want him to be cleared of all charges. I want to be happy." Harry finished and suddenly found a pair of arms flung around his neck and got a face full of bushy brown hair. Hermione hugged her husband tightly, her eyes just a wee bit watery.

"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way. You can apparate to Hogwarts each morning and if you wish, eat in the Great Hall. I'll give you your own rooms and office as well, just in case you need to stay at Hogwarts."

Hermione kissed Harry's cheek before turning back to the Headmistress, giving her a warm smile.

"I guess now would be a good time to say I'm pregnant again." She beamed.

Harry was extremely happy. So happy, he fainted. It was all too much for him. Today he had gotten a full time job that he was happy with, he learned he was about to have another baby, and he knew his godfather was alive.

"_Life is Better This Way" _as he was fanned to consciousness by his wife and professor. He could discern Remus and Albus under the table (apparently they ran back downstairs sometime while he was giving his ultimatum) fighting over who got to have Daddy's wand which had fallen out of his robes.

Albus won, and promptly turned his brother's hair purple.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N~ So, this actually isn't the same person as usual. . . we're at bagpipe camp. This is her roommate (who is NOTHING like Emilia. Nope. Nothing.) We took turns writing this chapter. Some delicious haggis for anyone who reviews! :D**

The house was small, the blue paint just beginning to peel. The Headmistress unlatched the gate and led the Potters up to the front porch. "This is where Sirius is hidden?" Hermione asked in an undertone. McGonagall nodded as Harry knocked on the door. "She was in training to be a Healer when some. . . unforeseen circumstances arose. "

The door was opened by a younger woman wearing jeans and a dark sweater. Her long, brown hair was pulled back into a braid, and her expression was unfriendly.

"Yes?" she asked.

McGonagall stepped forward. "Good evening, Emilia."

The woman's expression relaxed. "Oh, hello. You must be here to see Sirius?"

"Yes." The Headmistress said as the party filed into the house. "This is Mr. Harry Potter, Sirius is his godfather, and the family."

"Well, come in, then."

The main room was cluttered with the evidence of several unfinished projects. Hermione's gaze was attracted by a basket filled with balls of yarn and half of a blanket. Remus and Albus immediately wandered over and began to pull on the yarn, undoing the half-finished project.

"He's in the back bedroom," explained Emilia, as she led them in. "I think he's doing better. He ate a bit of something this morning." She lightly rapped on a partially open door and poked her head in. "Sirius? There's someone to see you. Well, several someones, actually." She turned back to McGonagall, Harry, and Hermione, who were staring at her with a mixture of apprehension and eagerness. "Come on."

As he entered the room, Harry suddenly felt like he had been hit in the stomach. The man lying in the bed was Sirius, all right. But he looked like he had when he had just broken out of Azkaban. His face, framed by his shaggy dark hair, was almost as white as the pillow. His eyes seemed sunk into his skull, and there were deep shadows around them. Harry didn't know how long he stood there, staring, but sooner or later he realized that Sirius was staring back, his eyes shining brightly out of his worn face.

"Harry," came the pathetic croak that was Sirius' voice.

The next moment, Harry had crossed the small room and thrown his arms around his godfather, both of them awash in tears. Hermione and Emilia were crying too, and even McGonagall dabbed at her eyes.

Emilia suddenly seemed to realize that she was intruding on their moment, and she stumbled toward the door, blushing. "I. . .I'll just make us a cup of tea, then. . ." She raced out. Sirius followed her with his eyes until the door banged shut behind her, smiling slightly.

Harry watched him with interest. "Sirius, you aren't. . . I mean, you and her, you don't. . ."

Sirius shrugged and tried to sit up. "Don't know what _you're_ talking of."

Harry smiled. "Well, she seems like a nice girl, and you're-"

The glare that he received was fierce enough to silence him. "Harry, I've been dead, or close enough, for three years. I'm not going to have a wife on my mind right now."

"Alright then" Harry said smirking. If he knew his godfather, that's what would be on his mind eventually.

"So, you have some people to introduce me to, I believe." Sirius' eyes raked over Hermione very briefly giving her a warm smile, and eventually landed on Remus, who was sitting in Hermione's lap, sniffling because Albus had been too rough with him.

"Hold on, then." Harry got up and left the room for a few seconds, before he came back Albus tightly secured in his arms. The boy was making desperate attempts to escape his father's grasps. Well, he was until he got a look a Sirius. The gaunt man's features frightened the child and he buried his face in Harry's chest. Albus might act like the tough one, but he certainly was just as prone to nightmares as his brother. Harry chuckled and sat into the chair next to Hermione.

Sirius' eyes had widened as Harry walked in with another boy. "Wow, someone's been busy, haven't they?"

Hermione threw a sarcastic glare at him and said, "Sirius, this is little Remus James Potter, and sitting in Harry's lap is Albus Arthur Potter." Sirius' eyes twinkled at the names of Harry and Hermione's sons. She continued. "Boys, I'd like you to say hello to Sirius Black. He's your daddy's godfather."

"You mean like Uncle Ron and Uncle Draco?" smart little Remus interjected.

"Yeah, exactly like that," Harry explained as he watched Albus take a peek at Sirius.

Noticing the boy's uneasiness, Sirius flashed him a smile. It wasn't going to win any _Witch Weekly_ Most-Charming-Smile awards, but the boy responded with his own goofy grin.

"You know, Albus, you look a lot like your father." Sirius attempted a conversation with the two-and-half year old.

Albus, apparently no longer scared, jumped out of Harry's lap and climbed up into Sirius' bed and sat next to him, allowing the man to stroke his soft black hair. "Mommy tells me that alla time. An' then she thanks Merlin that me'n Remmy not look the same."

Hermione laughed and buried her head in her hands, slightly embarrassed by his actions.

Harry chuckled and ruffed the boy's hair. He turned to Sirius. "So, when you get better, I want you to move in with me. I've got a house with plenty of rooms. You can stay in the guest room; it has its own bathroom and everything. And also anti-child locks"

The boys were now running around the room, causing mayhem as was usual.

"I'd be glad to Harry. I'll just have to check with Emilia. I can probably come over next week."

At the mention of her name, Emilia walked in the room carrying a try with a pot of tea and several cups on it.

"Would you like a cuppa?" she asked, her Scottish brogue apparent, but not as pronounced as McGonagall's was.

After pouring tea for everyone, Emilia sat down and turned towards Harry. "So, Mr. Potter, what do you do?"

"You can call me Harry." He said quickly. "And I'm starting a new job September 1st. I'm the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts."

Emilia open her mouth with a smile to reply, but another voice responded instead. "Are you really? Harry, that's wonderful!" Sirius' voice quieted when he noticed Emilia's stern frown in his direction. He blushed, "Sorry, Em."

Harry grinned at this. "Em, eh?" He turned laughing to Emilia.

"Only Sirius calls me that." She shot a teasing glare at the bed-ridden jokester, but Harry noticed her cheeks turned pink again.

Hermione's voice filled the awkward silence that followed this remark. "Oh, Emilia. We've invited Sirius to come live with us. Is that alright with you?"

"Oh . . .Of course. I mean. . .I'm just keepin' an eye on him, until he recovers a bit. Nothin' more." The brown haired woman looked disheartened. Hermione, sensing the root of the problem quickly added, "And you could come and visit as often as you liked. Plus, I'll need your help to take care of the old man."

"Ms. Granger-" Sirius began. Hermione stopped him however, waving her wedding band in the air.

"Right. Sorry. Let me start over. Mrs. Potter, in no way am I an old man. In fact I think being stuck behind the veil _decreased_ my age a tad. I feel no older than 30."

Harry studied his godfather. Upon closer examination, if Sirius filled out a bit, got some color in him, and cleaned and cut his hair, he would look much younger than he had the last summer Harry had seen him all those years ago. It looked as if Sirius' words were true.

Harry also caught the haggard man smiling genuinely at Emilia. No matter how much his godfather tried to deny it, he was definitely getting involved with the girl, and he deserved it.


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N ~ So, I'm still at bagpipe camp. And I guess when you only have faulty internet, you're more inclined to write your story more often. It's quite fun actually, my friend helps me write some parts sometimes. I'll get up and go to my class and I'll come back and have a page of stuff on my story. It's cool. It's like a self generating story. I would say there's camp food waiting in the review box, but its quite nasty, so I don't think you want any. **_

It had only taken Harry's testimony and presentation of his memories, along with a couple others to clear Sirius's name from the mess it had been stuck in for the last twenty-something years. After the war, the Ministry underwent several changes and got rid of several corrupted officials running departments. Harry played a large role in picking new people to run the Ministry the right way. When they rushed to Emilia's house with the news, Sirius had turned all kinds of extraordinary colors, and then broken down in tears. It was quite satisfying in fact.

Harry walked down the stairs of his house, the smell of grilled cheese meeting his nose. It was lunchtime at the Potter place. Today was also September 1st. As soon as Harry was done eating, he would apparate to the gates of the castle where he grew up. He was finally going back after all these years. Harry had spent the last week or so apparating back and forth between his house and his job to set up his rooms and office. He had Gryffindor regalia strewn about his office and his rooms. He also packed some of Hermione's and the boys' stuff for when they came to visit, which would be often.

He had also met with the staff at many of their meetings. Most of the teachers who had taught him were still there, including Professor Snape, who had miraculously survived the incident in the Shrieking Shack by consuming a potion that would stop his heartbeat, but still allow him to live. It was of his own design, and when he had made a full recovery, he sent the potion to the Ministry for approval. The once bitter professor no longer carried grudges from his school days. He had let Lily Evans leave his mind. He began anew with the end of the war.

Harry found he got on quite well with the "new" Severus. In fact he got on well with all the teachers. They didn't disapprove of him teaching at such a young age or the fact he wouldn't stay on campus. One day he even brought Remus and Albus with him to work, and all the female teachers practically drooled all over them. They especially noticed how much Albus looked like Harry and how pretty Remus's eyes and curls were. Overall, Harry fit well at Hogwarts.

He finished his lunch, kissed his wife and walked out the door to the end of the drive, dressed in bottle green robes for tonight's feast. He thought hard of Hogsmeade station, and turned to his right, experiencing the tight squeezing sensation that came with apparation. A second later, he landed in the train station and found a carriage up to the castle gate. He reached the gates, which opened for him and he walked up the long drive, admiring the view of the lake and the many spindly towers of the ancient castle. He had definitely missed the view. He reached the huge oak doors, and tugged them open and shuffled inside the entrance hall.

He made his way to the office, meeting no one on the way and got ready for tonight's feast. Hermione would be coming later, after dropping the boys off at Molly's for most of the night. He finished most of his lesson plans for the next 3 months. (Hermione would be proud of him) Seeing as how he still had an hour left he left his office to visit Severus. As soon as he rounded the corner of the corridor, he ran smack dab into a tall thin figure, knocking them both to the ground. Harry stood up, brushing the dust off his robes and went to pull the other man up. Severus hand connected firmly with his and pulled his body off the ground.

"Hello, Harry" Severus said coyly.

"Hello, Severus. I was just about to go down to talk to you."

"Ah. I was just about to reach your room to have a cup of tea perhaps."

"That sounds in order."

The men went back to Harry's office, where Harry lit a fire and Severus conjured a pot of steamy hot liquid. The men sat and chat amiably for a while and watched as Harry's fireplace turned green and Hermione flooed into the room. Harry helped dust her off and Severus graciously kissed her hand (Hermione blushed at this). After a sot more chatting, the three walked down to the Great Hall and took chairs next to the Headmistress's. Severus sat right next to Minerva, Harry next to him, and Hermione next to him.

As the students milled in, several came up to the table, shaking hands with Harry and Hermione, thanking them for what they had done when they were seventeen. Blushing furiously the whole time, Hermione had to be reassured several times by Harry, who did so by placing his hand on her knee.

They watched the sorting ceremony, cheering loudly for the students put into Gryffindor. Harry couldn't wait to watch Remus, Albus, and Teddy get sorted. As soon as the small children were sorted, the Headmistress stood up and acknowledged her audience.

"Students! How nice it is to see you again, or perhaps, just see you for the first time. I hope you have a good term ahead of you, but first I'd like to introduce some new members of the staff to you. As I'm sure you noticed, Mr. Harry Potter and his wife, Hermione Potter, formerly Granger, have graced us with their presence tonight. Unfortunately only one of them shall be working here full time. May I introduce to you, Professor Harry Potter, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Harry stood up to an enormous eruption of noise, from all the tables, even Slytherin. It was fair to say the houses were now truly united (as much as they'd allow anyway).

The rest of the night went on normally and ended with Harry collapsing in his bed in the castle with a deep sigh of contentment. He loved his house and family, but it sure was good to be back.

It was now December and snow blanket the grounds of Hogwarts. Hermione, now largely nine months pregnant stayed in the rooms in the castle with Remus and Albus. The boys loved the castle and Hermione often "loaned" the boys to any upperclassmen that wanted to take them about the castle to explore. The almost three year olds were a handful.

Harry was often very busy, doing his classes, grading work, and planning lessons. The fact that Hermione was full to bursting also made him even more stressed.

One day, McGonagall caught Harry as he stumbled out of his office. "What's the matter, Harry?" she asked, noticing his expression. He waved his wife's note. "Hermione."

The Headmistress looked concerned. "What? Is she having the baby? Perhaps you should go, I'll have Professor-"

Harry shook his head. "No, it's not that, not yet. She wants. . . she wants. . ."

"Wants what?"

"A large box of chocolate Cockroach Clusters."

McGonagall's eyebrows nearly reached her hairline. "Really! Well, I know pregnancy does cause some unusual cravings, but Cockroach Clusters- really!"

It was the middle of the class period, so the halls were empty. Harry walked to the statue of the one-eyed witch. He no longer needed the Marauder's Map to tell him how to get into Hogsmeade, and he slipped down the dark passage with little trouble.

By now it was nearly dark, and the warmth and light inside Honeydukes sweet shop was delicious after the stinging winter wind that screamed down the streets of Hogsmeade.

"Ah! Mr. Potter! So glad to have you back!" exclaimed the man behind the counter.

"Hullo. It's been awhile, I guess!"

"It surely has, Mr. Potter. I understand you've taken the Defense Against the Dark Arts job."

"Yeah, I have. But listen, my wife, er, you remember Hermione Granger. Yes, well, we've got a baby due any day, and she's had a certain craving for some of your Cockroach Clusters."

The Honeydukes owner chuckled and began scooping the sweets into a bag. "Will that be all, then?"

Harry chewed his lip, gazing at the shelves of deliciousness. "Well . . . I suppose it couldn't hurt, eh. . ."

He left Honeydukes with an armload of bags, and hurried out of the storm, soon arriving in his Hogwarts room. He dumped his purchases on the table and climbed the stairs with Hermione's sweets. She was sitting on their bed, reading a story to the Remus and Albus. The boys jumped up when Harry appeared in the doorway.

"Daddeeeeee!"

"They've been most anxious to see you," Hermione told him with a wry smile.

Harry scooped the twins up. "And I have been _most_ anxious to see all of you. Oh, here, these are for you."

Hermione took the Honeydukes bag avidly, but her expression changed when she reached inside.

"Did I ask for these?"

Harry laughed. "Yep. Having second thoughts?"

Her nose crinkled. "Yes . . ."

"Don't worry. . . I got some other things too." The twins leaped eagerly on the cockroach bag, not seeming to care what it was they were stuffing into their mouths.

Hermione sat up and gingerly placed her feet on the floor. "Well, its somebody's bath time, don't you think?"

Harry gently pushed her back. "I'll deal with these little rogues. You don't need to be on your feet more than necessary." Hermione looked greatly relieved.

Harry wrangled the two boys up while he ran a warm bath for them. Apparently, the boys thought it would be hilarious if they jumped out of the tub and ran wet, wild, and naked around the rooms. Harry had to chase them about the bed Hermione laid on reading a book. It was quite the sight. Harry's glasses were skewed on his face and his entire front was wet and soapy. This scene was so hilarious; in fact, Hermione let out a great roar of laughter, which was quickly stopped by a simple, "Oh."

Even the twin boys came to an abrupt halt, Albus running straight into Remus.

"What is it, 'Mione?" Harry looked at his wife with concern.

"The baby" she gasped, clutching her stomach.

"Right." Harry looked around for a second, completely disorientated but soon started taking action.

The boys were more than willing to cooperate, concern for their mother in their adorable little eyes. As soon as they were dressed in their pajamas, Harry ran them quickly (one in each arm) straight to Severus' room. Yes, surprisingly he was Albus and Remus's chosen babysitter while Hermione and Harry were otherwise occupied. The boys didn't mind though, because they loved Severus and his endless supply of jars filled with interesting odds and ends.

After the boys were secured ("Don't worry, Harry. I've got the hoodlums under control") He ran quickly to Minerva's office. He knocked and waited to be acknowledged, then entered.

"Harry, what are you doing here?" Minerva asked. "Isn't your wife going into labor?"

Harry looked puzzled. "How do you know?"

"Hermione flooed over quickly telling me you'd be gone tomorrow. Good thing it's the last day of term, eh?"

"Right." He nervously toed the carpet.

"Well, get going Potter."

Harry didn't need telling twice. He raced back to his rooms, pausing outside the door to compose himself. Then, with a deep breath, he pushed open the door.

Hermione already had all the bags packed and ready to go. She sat in an armchair reading a book, a small grimace on her face.

"'Bout time you showed up sir," she winked.

"Yeah, yeah. C'mon let's go." Harry, feeling more anxious than his wife, grabbed her hand and led her to the fireplace where they flooed to the St. Mungo's delivery room.

Several terrifying hours later, a tired Hermione was leaning against Harry, holding a small bundle. Inside the pink blanket was Lily Lyra Potter. She was fast asleep, the end of her thumb ever so slightly in her mouth.

Harry had to wipe away a tear.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N ~ Don't you guys wish I could post two chapters or more everyday? That'd be great, wouldn't it?

Hermione and Lily had moved back to their house in Ottery St. Catchpole the day before Christmas Eve. The two settled quite nicely into a routine of sleeping and eating. Compared to her twin older brothers, Lily was a saint. It was quite a nice break for Hermione.

Harry, Sirius, and Severus often took the boys to parks or zoos to entertain them while the baby got used to staying at home. Albus was immediately jealous of all the attention his baby sister was getting. Remus, on the other hand, adored her. It was hard for anyone to convince him to leave the bassinet.

Christmas Day was quite hectic. Harry wanted to sleep in as late as possible, bit right around seven in the morning, he was brought to consciousness by two very antsy boys. He forced them to go get dressed first, and then dragged them downstairs to eat before presents. By the time they were fed, Hermione walked down to sit in the living room with a gold blanket around Lily who was cradled in her arms.

Harry allowed the boys to then ransack the tree and rid it of all its presents. The boys had ripped the paper off of several cute outfits their mother had bought them, along with many Muggle toys that their granddad had given them. They opened a children's potion set (Hermione had made sure everything in it was safe) from Severus, and fake wands from Uncle George. Mrs. Weasley had made them green sweaters with yellow letters on the front. Harry also got one, but his had a snitch on it.

Before opening their presents from Sirius, the two boys had a little duel with George's wands, resulting in Remus holding a can of sardines and Albus holding a wart removal cream. Giggling, they set the gag items aside and waited for them to turn back into wands. They stuck these behind their ears then each boy picked up an identical long thin package. Harry grinned. He knew what Sirius had bought the boys.

Green paper flew in the air as two mini broomsticks, one brown, one black, were revealed to the boys.

Hermione looked apprehensive at first but when she noticed they only went about two feet off the ground and not very fast, she relaxed. The boys ran quickly outside, Harry following them closely. He watched as his two boys jumped on their brooms and hovered above the ground, zooming slowly around the flowerbeds.

Harry grinned as they became more daring, trying to do loops and mini dives. He couldn't wait until they were old enough for real broomsticks. Only a couple more years, and he would start teaching them all about his favorite sport.

He glanced towards to the house to find Hermione gently rocking Lily in her arms in the huge window at the front of the building.

His eyes raked over them, and came to rest at the sign Mrs. Weasley had given him four years ago.

This finally was the Potter Place.

Christmas dinner at the Weasley's was more hectic than ever. There were many small children running around and smaller children sitting in their laps. Mrs. Weasley had hardly enough time to fuss over all of them.

Lily, born only three days previous was quite the attraction of the red-headed witch's attention.

Several Weasley offspring were curious as well. Teddy and Victoire, now six and five, were herding the children away from the small baby for a game of Gobstones. Remus, Albus, Dana, Fred (Angelina and George's son), and little Scorpius (Draco and Ginny's son who could barely walk) all reluctantly walked away, leaving Hermione sitting at the table with just the adults.

"She's beautiful," a timid voice piped up. Sirius, who now had a casual arm around her shoulder, had invited Emilia to Christmas dinner with all that was left of his family. The two looked very relaxed together, but other than friendly gestures, they rarely showed any other affection. It was hard to discern the depth of their relationship, but Hermione sure something was happening between the two.

"Thanks, Emilia." Hermione smiled at the witch who had helped Sirius regain his strength so quickly.

Dinner was scrumptious as usual, and afterwards, most guests retired to the sitting room for a little tea and coffee.

They were making small talk when Teddy came running in, huffing and puffing.

Harry looked concernedly at his godson, "Teddy, what's wrong."

The boy smiled wickedly. "Daddy," Teddy began, but stopped to catch his breath a bit more. Hermione noticed the blush on Harry's cheeks as Teddy addressed him.

The boy with red and green hair started again. "I just… I… Er…."

"Spit it out Ted." Ron encouraged.

"Yeah. All right. Well, the thing is… I… I well, er, saw something." He finished vaguely.

"Saw what dearie?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking up from her knitting with a smile.

"Well, I , uh, saw, erm, Sirius… and…"

"Teddy, for Merlin's sake, spit it out! " Draco exclaimed, stopped the boy from stumbling on any more.

"Ah. Fine. I saw Sirius and Emilia-"

"Well, that normal, they're always hanging out together," said Hermione, but she frowned slightly.

"Ah, but they aren't usually _snogging_, now, are they?" Teddy blushed as soon as the words came out of his mouth. An explosion of giggles came from the hall outside the sitting room as he dashed out to rejoin the other children.

After a moment of stunned, silence, Ginny let out a great laugh, and many followed suit.

Over all the laughter, George roared, "It's about time!"

"About time for what?" Sirius asked, as he walked in the other door. Ginny was unable to stifle a giggle as they noticed Emilia's fingers threaded through his.

"Nothing," Harry said, a little too quickly, trying to maintain the innocent look on his face.

His godfather's dark eyes narrowed in mock suspicion. He crossed the room, leading Emilia by the hand, and they sat down between Ron and Draco, both of whom tried unsuccessfully to conceal gleeful smirks.

"Be careful now, Sirius. We don't want any puppies on our hands." Sirius glared at Ginny, while Emilia gave her a look of utter confusion. She looked between Ginny and Sirius, then realization dawned on her face and she blushed a wonderful pink color. The laughter in the room was uproarious, except for Mrs. Weasley, who exclaimed "_Ginny_!" and turned almost as pink as Emilia.

They talked late into the evening, and was made more entertaining by the fact that everyone kept shooting sideways glances at Sirius and Emilia, who were gallantly pretending to be engaged in the conversation while their minds were clearly . . ._otherwise_ occupied.


	17. Chapter 17

"Kids get in the car, we're going to go see Sirius and Emilia!"

Harry finished brushing his teeth as he heard Hermione yelling up the stairs. He popped his head out the door and yelled "Yes, mother." Earning himself a smart smirk from his wife.

Harry heard four pairs of feet trample down the stairs before him. Albus and Remus, who were now eight years old; Lily who was five, and little Hugo who was four.

Hugo was actually a surprise. They hadn't planned on having another child so soon after Lily, but it just happened. Hugo was very much like Hermione. He had her face and her eyes and her curls, only in Harry's black hair. He was always asking questions. Putting his nose in books and even managed to steal his father's wand and make his sister's pigtails change from brown to purple.

As Harry finished up in the bathroom he hummed a little tune, and ran down the stairs quickly to get in the car. As he did, Hermione started it and drove towards a little town just outside of London where Sirius and Emilia lived. The road was bumpy, and got steadily rougher as they approached Llanystymdwy. It was fun . . . for about ten minutes, and then Lily and Remus cracked their heads together, Hugo was ready to have an accident on the seat, and Albus somehow got his seatbelt knotted around his head.

"Just . . . twenty . . . more . . . minutes . . ." gritted Hermione, her knuckles white on the steering wheel.

"Sirius! I think they're here." Emilia called, peering out the front window. There was heavy thump, and a string of muffled swearing, and Sirius Black emerged from the other room, straightening his robes.

"Fine! I'm fine! Ouch . . ."

Laughing, Emilia crossed the room. "What is it now?"

Sirius shrugged. "Oh. You know. I'm envious of what Harry and Hermione have."

Emilia looked concerned

"No, no. I mean like… Er…" He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

He suddenly stopped as Emilia's arms went around his waist. He stared down at the head of brown hair resting on his chest before he continued, "Well, I kinda want a family. Maybe not as big as theirs, but, you know…"

"Everybody thinks you're such the tough guy." She looked up. "Well. Not that you aren't. But you're so sensitive sometimes."

Sirius playfully punched her arm. "So, what do you think? Am I sensitive enough for children?"

She sighed. "Perhaps one or two. Is that good."

"That's wonderful."

By this time the Potter household was waiting for them to open their front door and let them in. With an arm wrapped around Emilia's waist, Sirius pulled the door open and a tidal wave of small people passed by his wait. He was left with a frazzled looking Hermione and a sheepishly ginning Harry standing on their porch.

"Well, come in, gosh."

While having tea in the sitting room, Sirius and Emilia got a taste of how much damage children could exactly do. Hugo knocked down a whole shelf of books reaching for _The Tales of Beetle the Bard_, Lily had found Emilia's make up kit, and Remus and Albus had somehow managed to make a tremendous mess of the upstairs bedroom. Harry and Hermione endlessly apologized to the couple as they ran after their children, disciplining them and cleaning up after them with waves of their wands.

After the mess had been cleaned up, lunch was served, thankfully with less disasters and eventually, Emilia gently closed the door behind the rambunctious bunch.

She melted into Sirius's waiting arms and sighed loudly.

"Perhaps only one then, dear?" She laughed into his chest.

"That's a deal, my lady."

And with that Sirius carried her up the stairs.


End file.
